Went to a con and didn't buy a comic book 1 1

[Westy Steve]

So I went to a comic book show this weekend.  I only had a couple hundred $$$ to spend at the show because times are tight right now. 

For the first time ever, I went home from a show without a book.  I couldn't find anything I wanted that was either (a.) in my price range (b.) not "drek"  (c.) too new to be interesting to me or (d.) above ebay prices.

In fairness, I did see one book I wanted, but I put it down for a moment and someone else picked it up and bought it.  Aw well.

My friend who went with me experienced the same thing. 

Yes, there was  a lot of $20 books for $10, but I need those like I need a hole in the head.  Any semi-serious, somewhat key bronze or older book seemed too high and the newer stuff doesn't float my boat.  I could have bought some mid-grade silver age stuff, but that just seems like tying up money to me.  Golden age offerings that were even somewhat interesting started at $500.

No flames, guys.  Can we just talk about the lack of material in that price range?

edit:  Just to be clear, I got to the show early.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Westy Steve

[NoMan]

I guess this hobby just takes a lot of money these days. I was lamenting about that the other day and just decided to buck up and pay more money because I really enjoy the comic book hobby. Suppose I just buy a lot less. Maybe leave a con with one or two books rather than 10 or 20.

Not to hi jack the thread but a question that's kinda in a similar vein: Do you go to a convention knowing you're broke and can't buy anything? Let's say it's a con with no panels, just an old timey show in the banquet room at Holiday Inn?

[Westy Steve]

5 minutes ago, NoMan said:

I guess this hobby just takes a lot of money these days. I was lamenting about that the other day and just decided to buck up and pay more money because I really enjoy the comic book hobby. Suppose I just buy a lot less. Maybe leave a con with one or two books rather than 10 or 20.

Not to hi jack the thread but a question that's kinda in a similar vein: Do you go to a convention knowing you're broke and can't buy anything? Let's say it's a con with no panels, just an old timey show in the banquet room at Holiday Inn?

I don't personally.  I always bring money and trade material.  FWIW, I prefer the shows without panels.  I'm there for books!

I try to bring more than $200, but I was still thinking I'd find SOMETHING at this show.  I think my $200 budget was in the no-man's land between the table-top fodder and the wall books.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Westy Steve
clarity

[classicaaron]

id be happy if the shows around here had those $20 books you don't want.  I feel every show is dollar boxes or pure garbage or $100 and up wall books.  I don't particularly want either of those types of books at shows.  some mid and minor keys in that $20 - $50 range would be fantastic but are just not around.

with that said ive never walked away from the show empty handed.  I will force myself to buy at least one thing to justify my time.

[Westy Steve]

4 minutes ago, classicaaron said:

id be happy if the shows around here had those $20 books you don't want.  I feel every show is dollar boxes or pure garbage or $100 and up wall books.  I don't particularly want either of those types of books at shows.  some mid and minor keys in that $20 - $50 range would be fantastic but are just not around.

with that said ive never walked away from the show empty handed.  I will force myself to buy at least one thing to justify my time.

I hear you.  But I realized that it made more sense to save my money for an ebay purchase than to spend it on something just to buy something.  If I can't at least get a discount to ebay prices, I don't want to play.  To clarify, this is not an indictment on the dealers.  I saw they had some deals, but the deals I saw that weren't "drek" were above my budget.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Westy Steve

[1Cool]

4 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

I hear you.  But I realized that it made more sense to save my money for an ebay purchase than to spend it on something just to buy something.  If I can't at least get a discount to ebay prices, I don't want to play.  To clarify, this is not an indictment on the dealers.  I saw they had some deals, but the deals I saw that weren't "drek" were above my budget.

If you are going to Cons to get lower then E-Bay prices on key books you will almost always leave unsatisfied unless you have a ton of time on your hand digging thru boxes and looking for the hidden gem.  Based on your couple hundred dollar price tag I'm assuming you are looking for keys like TOD 10 or SS 1 and quite frankly you just won't find those type of books in the boxes so it comes down to finding a dealer who is so flush with keys he is willing to give you a discount compared to what he can get sitting at home selling on E-Bay.  The buyers all want keys so giving discounts on keys has dried up since demand is sky high.

[1Cool]

You mention tying up money on non-key Silver-Age books - are you looking for keys for investment purposes? 

[thunsicker]

41 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

For the first time ever, I went home from a show without a book.  I couldn't find anything I wanted that was either (a.) in my price range (b.) not "drek"  (c.) too new to be interesting to me or (d.) above ebay prices.

I can beat you.  I haven't bought a book for 2-3 years.  It's just hard to buy a Schomburg Nedor for $350 when I was just buying the same books a short while ago for $75-$150.  Or buy a Schomburg Timely for $2k when it was $800 just a short while ago.  Just recently I decided I'm ready to start buying again, but I'm looking for newer stuff that scratches that itch and isn't too expensive.  I've decided I'm going to see if I can put together a high grade (9.6-9.8) run of Sienkiewicz covers.  Those can still be had for reasonable prices, comparatively.  Since my prime early years of collecting were 70's through 80's his Moon Knights and New Mutants scratch that itch for me.  And I've always found his painted covers to be pretty awesome.

[Brock]

I feel much the same as the OP... while I still enjoy bin diving with the dollar books sometimes, a lot of cons seem to have precious little between the dollar bins and the nosebleed books. And increasingly, the nosebleed books are priced in silly ways.

Recently, I was interested in picking up a Hawkman 4 (first Zatanna)... I saw a raw wall copy that a dealer called a 4.0, but which was probably a 2.0 or 2.5, and they wouldn’t move from the $400 price (“because it’s a hot book”). Sometimes, it seems that a lot of cons are just a way to part the ill-informed from their money.

I still go to cons and enjoy them, but I find I spend precious little money. That gets spent on ebay, or on a few specific dealers who have the kinds of things I collect (like Doug Sulipa, who always amazes).

However, I have started to look for what might be called “recent obscurities” - things like 75c Whitman variants, or DCU variants. This gives me the chance to hunt for fun, with books that are generally cheap, but sometimes truly difficult. It helps make the con shopping experience more enjoyable.

[VintageComics]

56 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

So I went to a comic book show this weekend.  I only had a couple hundred $$$ to spend at the show because times are tight right now. 

For the first time ever, I went home from a show without a book.  I couldn't find anything I wanted that was either (a.) in my price range (b.) not "drek"  (c.) too new to be interesting to me or (d.) above ebay prices.

In fairness, I did see one book I wanted, but I put it down for a moment and someone else picked it up and bought it.  Aw well.

My friend who went with me experienced the same thing. 

Yes, there was  a lot of $20 books for $10, but I need those like I need a hole in the head.  Any semi-serious, somewhat key bronze or older book seemed too high and the newer stuff doesn't float my boat.  I could have bought some mid-grade silver age stuff, but that just seems like tying up money to me.  Golden age offerings that were even somewhat interesting started at $500.

No flames, guys.  Can we just talk about the lack of material in that price range?

edit:  Just to be clear, I got to the show early.

Which show was it?

I find a well stocked show generally has a wide swath of material but not all shows are equal.

[Westy Steve]

19 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

You mention tying up money on non-key Silver-Age books - are you looking for keys for investment purposes? 

That's a gray area.  I like collecting important milestones.  I also buy classic non-key stuff to read, but I have a huge backlog of stuff I need to read.  I do feel some enormous responsibility to at least get the money back out of the books that I put into them since I have three kids who need to go to college.

[Westy Steve]

3 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

Which show was it?

I find a well stocked show generally has a wide swath of material but not all shows are equal.

TampaCon.  Again, not an indictment to the dealers or even the show.  I think it's just the market place and the market forces in general.  Dealers can't afford to display the cheaper wall books, and typically need to seill their bread and butter cheap books to help pay for table space.  I suspect the books in my budget get left at home.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Yup. That's the market we're in right now. Everything except very low grade common 70s and later material is up for prices that are higher than they were even a year ago. Want a Joker Batman cover before #100? Forget it. You're paying for it. How about high grade anything even remotely key? Like Starlin Warlocks, or X-Men #102+, or Spidey #298-328? Yup. $$$

The only thing to do is wait it out, and hope the situation improves. We haven't seen a market like this in a very long time; we've never seen a market like this with the kind of money involved.

[Bomber-Bob]

14 minutes ago, Brock said:

However, I have started to look for what might be called “recent obscurities” - things like 75c Whitman variants, or DCU variants. This gives me the chance to hunt for fun, with books that are generally cheap, but sometimes truly difficult. It helps make the con shopping experience more enjoyable.

Excellent approach and it works. You can get just as excited over filling in holes in a DCU Variant collection as with a more expensive run. It's about having fun.

[blazingbob]

27 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

TampaCon.  Again, not an indictment to the dealers or even the show.  I think it's just the market place and the market forces in general.  Dealers can't afford to display the cheaper wall books, and typically need to seill their bread and butter cheap books to help pay for table space.  I suspect the books in my budget get left at home.

Did you email any of the dealers to ask them to bring the books you are looking for to the show?

 

[1Cool]

6 minutes ago, blazingbob said:

Did you email any of the dealers to ask them to bring the books you are looking for to the show?

 

i believe price was his sticking point - not selection.

[Keys_Collector]

Cons don't make sense any more thanks or no thanks to the ease of online buying and selling.  It's the same fashion as why its easier to buy something on Amazon or eBay then head to the store.  Cheaper and more convenient. I'm not going to pay a 20-25% markup for a book I can buy all day online for much less especially on a big book.  Same reason why I'm barely buying anything other than new releases from local comic shop.  Love the hobby but what who is going to pay 25% more?  My only hopes is landing a huge grail at conventions where I can physically see the book when i'm dropping 5K+ on a book.  Anything else and i'll take the much cheaper gamble online.  

[RockMyAmadeus]

6 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

i believe price was his sticking point - not selection.

Here's why I never ask anyone to bring anything for me "special order": unless it's something that I know is perfectly suited for me, and the price is something that I will pay, I feel it's an obligation on my part. Even though I, as the buyer, have the perfect option of turning down the item(s) because of price, condition, or both, I would still feel like a shmuck for "making" a dealer go to extra effort, only to have me turn it down...and added to that, there's certain to be resentment by some dealers as well, which could mean you wouldn't be able to exercise such an option with them in the future for something you really DID want.

So, I just don't do it. I'd rather not be obligated, even if there's no real "obligation." Whatever's there is there, and if you ask the dealer and he/she says "oh, I didn't bring those, but I have a ton of them back in storage!" then that opens the door for negotiation after the con...without the implied obligation.

I know some dealers do this specifically because buyers will then feel like they're obligated to purchase, and take advantage of that. And, of course, this is the exact same psychology that makes "no obligation quotes" and the like so successful in the rest of the business world: once you're in the door, you're 75% to your sale.

[Robot Man]

1 hour ago, thunsicker said:

I can beat you.  I haven't bought a book for 2-3 years.  It's just hard to buy a Schomburg Nedor for $350 when I was just buying the same books a short while ago for $75-$150.  Or buy a Schomburg Timely for $2k when it was $800 just a short while ago.  Just recently I decided I'm ready to start buying again, but I'm looking for newer stuff that scratches that itch and isn't too expensive.  I've decided I'm going to see if I can put together a high grade (9.6-9.8) run of Sienkiewicz covers.  Those can still be had for reasonable prices, comparatively.  Since my prime early years of collecting were 70's through 80's his Moon Knights and New Mutants scratch that itch for me.  And I've always found his painted covers to be pretty awesome.

I hear you. And, from the looks of your sig line, you have done pretty well. Kind of the same boat for me. I know prices go up especially for high quality books. That's the direction the hobby has gone. I find I buy fewer or maybe a little lower grade than I used to. I collect GA books and there are tons of super great books that are pretty affordable if you have an open mind. If you are looking for Schomburg, Baker, GGA, PCH or any superhero "keys" expect to pay a little more. 

[thunsicker]

2 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

1 hour ago, thunsicker said:

I can beat you.  I haven't bought a book for 2-3 years.  It's just hard to buy a Schomburg Nedor for $350 when I was just buying the same books a short while ago for $75-$150.  Or buy a Schomburg Timely for $2k when it was $800 just a short while ago.  Just recently I decided I'm ready to start buying again, but I'm looking for newer stuff that scratches that itch and isn't too expensive.  I've decided I'm going to see if I can put together a high grade (9.6-9.8) run of Sienkiewicz covers.  Those can still be had for reasonable prices, comparatively.  Since my prime early years of collecting were 70's through 80's his Moon Knights and New Mutants scratch that itch for me.  And I've always found his painted covers to be pretty awesome.

I hear you. And, from the looks of your sig line, you have done pretty well. Kind of the same boat for me. I know prices go up especially for high quality books. That's the direction the hobby has gone. I find I buy fewer or maybe a little lower grade than I used to. I collect GA books and there are tons of super great books that are pretty affordable if you have an open mind. If you are looking for Schomburg, Baker, GGA, PCH or any superhero "keys" expect to pay a little more. 

I started GA looking for Schomburg Timelys.  Those became too expensive so I looked for Scomburg Nedors.  Those also got too dear so I started to look for Schomburg Real Life or It Really Happened.  Now that those have started to jump there aren't GA that I can afford that fit my focus.  And I don't have the money to switch GA focus.  Plus with how few there are of most GA comics simply starting a new focus (Reed Crandall or Lou Fine covers) my starting to collect them means that the prices on them will start to jump as well.  Not that those aren't expensive as well.  Oh well, at least I can occasionally find a decent Spirit Section priced in my range.